Drown: The Hazel Chronicles
by EnvyIsMySin
Summary: She was drowning. And there was nothing she could do to stop it. She was destined to be different. Follow the journeys of one cat, Hazelfeather. Pre-series. Rated T to be safe.
1. Drowning?

**Disclaimer: I obviously don't own warriors. I do own the characters, though! ^^**

**A/N: Haha, all of you guys who read my fanfictions probably thought this would be an Alice in Wonderland fanfiction. Sorry if I disappointed you. D:**

**Anyways... this takes place in the old forest, pre-Bluestar's Prophecy. So all of the characters are old. xD Enjoy!**

**

* * *

  
**

She was drowning.

Hazelpaw's paws churned through the dark waters, trying to find a pawhold. But there was nothing, the rushing water stretched on forever. A black wave pushed its way over her head, and she went under. The water invaded her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. She kicked furiously with her hind legs, and pulled herself above the water, coughing and spluttering. Her paws flailed uselessly in the water, as the black, ominous, neverending water swept her farther away. She tried to glance back, opening her mouth to yowl for help. No sound came out. Hazelpaw was pushed under again. She was going to die.

. . . .

Hazelpaw woke up with a start, coughing and hacking. Glancing fearfully around the apprentice's den, she laughed nervously. _It was only a dream._ And yet, Hazelpaw couldn't shake off the feeling that the black churning water was going to sweep through the den, and pull her away. Away from her sister, away from Tawnyfur and Sleetstorm. Not able to fall back asleep, Hazelpaw stretched, and padded out of the apprentice's den, careful not to wake up any of her denmates. The sun has started rising, and a few cats were in the clearing, including Thrushpaw, Tawnyfur, and Bluefall. She padded over to the deputy. "Hi, Hazelpaw." Bluefall purred.

"Hi." she responded, dipping her head to Bluefall. "Could I join the hunting patrol?" she asked her mentor.

"Of course." Bluefall responded, flicking her tail over the younger cat's muzzle. Bluefall then called the hunting patrol. "Hazelpaw, Thrushpaw, Ravenclaw, Whiteheart, and Sweetpelt. I'll lead." the patrol slipped through the gorse tunnel, and out into the lush forest. "Where do you think we should go?" Bluefall asked the two apprentices.

"The Great Sycamore." Hazelpaw replied automatically, thinking of the lush tree, and all the mouthwatering prey that lived near it. She could practically taste it on her tongue. It was one of her favorite hunting spots in all of ThunderClan territory.

"Very good." the blue-gray warrior purred, leading the patrol towards the Great Sycamore. Once they reached the tree, they heard the calls of birds above their heads. Suddenly, Hazelpaw saw a brown, bushy tail peek through the grass. _Squirrel!_

She dropped into a hunter's crouch, her cream-colored tail lifted slightly so that it wouldn't drag through the grass and leaves, her paws barely touching the ground, as if they were desperately trying to float. She slowly gained on the unsuspecting squirrel, urging herself to not jump out and chase it. It would probably scamper up a tree if she did that, and that wouldn't feed her clan.

Once she was about a tail-length from the squirrel, she pounced. She raised her paw up, and drove a fatal blow on its neck. "Well done!" Sweetpelt congratulated her, purring. Hazelpaw nodded as a 'thank you', picked up the plump piece of prey in her jaws, and continued onward.

"Wow, that was really cool!" Thrushpaw said in awe, bouncing slightly next to Hazelpaw. Thrushpaw, who was about 3 moons younger than Hazelpaw, was a new 'paw, so everything fascinated him. He probably hadn't caught anything that large yet, so to him the squirrel was a huge catch.

"Thanks." Hazelpaw said around the squirrel, her words muffled. Her jaws ached slightly from carrying the squirrel, even after only a few moments, but she would bear it. She was a clan cat, and a warrior, after all. _Not like those kittypets who can do nothing for themselves,_ she thought in disgust.

. . . .

By the time the patrol was heading back, they had a good load of prey. Since it was greenleaf, prey was thankfully running well. Sweetpelt and Ravenclaw had caught a rabbit together, and were carrying it back. Sweetpelt seemed to practically be a WindClan cat, since she could run quicker, and was more agile than any other ThunderClan warrior. Ravenclaw had helped to kill the rabbit with his massive size. Bluefall had caught a starling, and Thrushpaw had caught a good-sized vole. His chest had puffed out with pride as Hazelpaw congratulated him. Hazelpaw had also caught a mouse. Most of the clan thought she was destined to be a great hunter, since she usually brought at least two things back from every hunt.

Thrushpaw and Hazelpaw padded side by side, behind the rest of the patrol.

On their way back to ThunderClan camp, the patrol passed the river that marked the border with Riverclan. Hazelpaw shuddered. Even though the waters were clear and calm, she still could feel the invisible waves pressing against her, constricting her. Her chest tightening, she shook it off. _Get a grip, Hazelpaw!_ she scolded herself, for fearing something that wasn't there. She bounded away from the river to catch up Thrushpaw, but not before sparing a fleeting glance back at the river.

* * *

**So, what do you think? This will probably be a multi-chapter story. I know for sure that it is definitely not a one-shot. Her upcoming "prophecy" might seem similar to Bluestar's**, **but I'll try to make it different. **

**Sorry if I messed up on anything, I don't have the book with me right now. As you can probably tell, Hazelpaw is the main character. **

**Just to clear things up, Tawnyfur is her mother, Sleetstorm is her father, and her sister's name is Fernpaw. The other cats will be described in other chapters, but Hazelpaw is basically a cream-colored she-cat with darker stripes and a light tail tip, paws, and underbelly. She has hazel eyes.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~Mirana**


	2. Meet Fernpaw

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Warriors. Why would I be on fanfiction if I did? I do own almost all the cats I've used so far, though, except for Moonkit and Goosekit. Guess who they are! :3**

**A/N: Second chapter is up! The plot-bunny for this story came hopping back at about 1:45 in the morning. Now, it's about 2:30 AM, so.. yeah. Sorry for any mistakes. Also, the plot-bunny had a bit too much sugar, so this might be a bit melodramatic. Sorry! ^^;**

**Anyways, enjoy~!**

**

* * *

  
**

Fernpaw shook herself awake. The air around her was cold, and she felt like something was missing. _'It must by Hazelpaw.'_ she thought groggily._ 'She probably went on the dawn patrol.'_ Fernpaw opened one eye and peeked outside of the apprentice's den. The sun was still rising, and the clearing was empty, except for Moonkit and Goosekit tumbling around, and a few warriors sharing tongues.

Fernpaw stretched. She padded outside to the clearing, only to have a small mass of fur bump into her. "Sorry!" Goosekit squeaked.

"It's fine." Fernpaw replied, purring, flicking her tail playfully at the younger cat. Goosekit never did seem to be totally there; his head always was up in the clouds. Goosekit nodded, and then scampered back off, tackling his littermate.

Fernpaw watched him go in amusement, and then sighed wistfully. Oh, how she sometimes wished she was still a small kit, with nothing to worry about but when you'd get to go outside and explore, and how much you could play. Sadly, you didn't miss it until it was gone; since to a kit, being an apprentice is the best thing in the world.

The mottled gray she-cat padded over to the fresh-kill pile, where her mentor was sitting. "Hi, Whiteheart." she meowed, peering up at the older warrior with bright green eyes, to meet startling icy blue ones.

"Hello, Fernpaw." the pure white she-cat purred, a warmth shining in her eyes that Fernpaw couldn't place. To Fernpaw, Whiteheart was more of a second mother than a mentor. After all, they were kin, since Whiteheart was her father's littermate.

"Did you go out on hunting patrol?" Fernpaw asked. Usually, Whiteheart woke up later, and went out on the dusk patrol.

Whiteheart nodded. "Your sister came along, too. I think she might have gone out again to hunt on her own." she replied. "Although, she might have brought one of your denmates with her, I'm not quite sure." Whiteheart tilted her head slightly, as if pondering the idea, her mid-length fur swishing slightly from the movement.

"Thanks, Whiteheart!" Fernpaw purred, nuzzling her mentor. She then bounded towards the gorse tunnel, to go look for her sister.

-----

Hazelpaw padded towards sunningrocks, a small sparrow in her jaws. She didn't take any fresh-kill after their earlier hunt, so Bluefall had let her go out on her own to catch something for herself.

As the cream-colored she-cat reached sunningrocks, she slowed down her pace. She stopped near the edge of the forest, staying away from the river, and flopped down to eat her sparrow. Even though she didn't actually drown, and it was just a dream, she was still wary of the river. But this river was pretty slow-moving and was a brilliant blue, unlike the black, fast-paced waters that plagued her nightmares.

As she started eating her sparrow, Hazelpaw could swear she heared her name being called. She perked her ears up, but didn't hear anything else. She flicked her tail in annoyance, and went back to eating her sparrow.

After she finished, she licked her paws, and then cleaned her muzzle. She slowly stood up, her muscles aching from sitting for so long. As she padded through the forest, she almost ran into another cat; a mottled gray one.

"Fernpaw!" Hazelpaw exclaimed, looking down at her sister. "What are you doing out here?" she asked the smaller cat.

"I was actually looking for you." Fernpaw said sheepishly, meeting her sister's gaze.

"Why were you looking for me?" Hazelpaw purred affectionately, pushing her sister's shoulder lightly. In some ways, her sister still acted like a kit. Then again, Hazel sometimes did too. _'Like being scared of a dream.'_

"Well, all the patrols were completed for now, and I had nothing to do, since Whiteheart had just gotten back, so I thought I could look for you." Fernpaw replied nonchalantly.

Hazelpaw chucked. "C'mon, then." she said, turning, and beckoning her sister with her tail. "Let's go."

Fernpaw bounded after Hazelpaw. She hated being the smaller one. She purred as she caught up with Hazelpaw, nudging her shoulder. "Slow down! I have smaller legs, remember?" she purred, amusement lacing her voice.

Hazelpaw nodded and fake-pouted, her eyes filled with laughter. "Fine. But only because it's you." she said. "Let's go to the little stream, and have some sister-time." The two of them laughed, and bounded off towards the stream. But there was a little voice in the back of Hazel's mind. _'Be careful."_ it simply whispered, lacing her thoughts with worry. But she wouldn't let a little voice stop her from having fun.

-----

This time, she really _was _drowning.

Well, not really, but it sure _felt_ like it. Hazelpaw and Fernpaw had been wading through the shallows of the streams, splashing each other, when a huge rush of water took them by surprise, Luckily, it didn't unearth them, but it soaked through their pelts, and went over their heads, leaving them coughing and sputtering in its wake.

"Ugh!" Fernpaw cried, looking at her drenched pelt. "Thank StarClan it's greenleaf, or else we'd be shivering like Twolegs in a storm! What are we going to tell everyone? We'll look like ignorant kits!"

Hazelpaw wasn't paying attention. She was shaking slightly, staring off at nothing. The voice had been right. _'Be careful'_ it had warned her. But alas, she didn't listen, and this was the consequence. Feeling like her nightmare had come alive; like she was about to die. She'd have to be more careful next time.

"Hazelpaw?" Fernpaw asked, snapping Hazelpaw back to reality. Fernpaw was worried. Hazelpaw looked extremely shaken by this. "Are you alright?" she asked her sister. Hazelpaw just nodded in response.

"Come on, let's head back." Fernpaw pulled herself out of the stream, and then offered a paw to Hazelpaw. Hazelpaw clung on to her sister's paw, and Fernpaw helped to pull her out of the stream.

As they headed back, Hazelpaw drifted away from reality again. _'What could this mean?' _she pondered.

_'Beware water, Hazelpaw.' _the voice said in the back of her head. _'Beware.'  
_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Okay, so.. what do you think? Am I doing well?** **I'm starting to feel a bit sleep-deprived, so night!**

**Please review! Thank you for reading this!**

**~Mirana**


End file.
